A Mistake to Ever Regret
by azngirl123
Summary: "And I decided he wasn't good enough for me. But he was good enough. He was the best, and he still is, and always will be. I haven't met anyone like him since and know I never will." Percabeth.


**A/N: This is a story that I thought of. It's not like my other stories. Oh, Charles and Silena didn't die. This is a very short one-shot.**

**No One's POV**

She was a role model to young children of Athena and to others also. She was the one who rebuilt Olympus. She was the one who helped save the world. When she went to camp, she would reach Cabin 6 and be mauled by hugs.

She nodded as she took the bulletin from the usher, and then followed him to her seat. Thalia was already there, sitting with the Stoll brothers, Silena and Charles, and Clarisse and Chris. The woman looked up to see her best friend, who'd just arrived. As she sat down, Thalia reached out and put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. She had known her since the young age of six, and knew that while her friend would be putting on a front, she was hurting inside. Thalia knew that Annabeth had never thought this would actually happen.

But it had. And so Annabeth put on a brave face.

She looked around the church, at the gathered family and friends. She wondered how many of them, whether any of them, knew him, really knew him, the way she did.

She had, after all, known Percy Jackson since he was twelve and they had been inseparable for years after their meeting.

They had gone through a lot together. They had defeated monsters, traveled on quests. They saved the world together and they were each other's first love.

She looked up at the priest who appeared at the front of the sanctuary.

She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. She wished this wasn't happening. She wished things had been different. She'd had her chance. She could have changed history. But she was blind. She was foolish. If only she'd hadn't made the mistake.

But she did.

And now she was here, watching, when she wished she were doing.

She'd get through this. She knew she could. She had no choice, she already lost her chance.

She watched as Nico, Grover, and Percy filed to the front of the sanctuary.

Percy had dressed for the occasion; he was wearing a black tux that looked amazing on him. _He looks so handsome_, she thought.

Annabeth listened as the music began to fill the sanctuary. Like everyone else, she turned to look at the rear of the church. _She's beautiful_, she admitted to herself as she admired the bride-to-be.

His bride was at the back of the church, wearing a stunning white, satin gown. She held her father's arm and started her walk down the aisle. Annabeth knew her name, but didn't like to say it. This was the woman who was marrying the one she loves.

_That could have been me. That could have been Dad. But I was so the fool. So ferociously stupid and shallow,_ she thought as she watched the bride walk down the aisle. Preceding her was Percy's younger brother, who carried two gold rings on a small pillow_. I had him. He loved me! And I threw it away. I stupidly thought he wasn't smart enough or driven enough to be accomplished in life. And I decided he wasn't good enough for me. But he was good enough. He was the best, and he still is, and always will be. I haven't met anyone like him since and know I never will. I wanted the perfect guy but didn't realize that what I'd needed – and had already found – was the perfect guy for me. If only I'd realized sooner what I had, that would be me walking down the aisle._

Thalia saw her dear friend tense up and close her eyes. Thalia, along with Annabeth closest friends and family, were the only ones who knew the depth of Annabeth's feelings for her one-time boyfriend. They had thought she was making the biggest mistake of her life when she broke things off with Percy, but Annabeth was stubborn and ignored it all. She said she had to be with someone she could imagine spending the rest of her life with.

Annabeth listened to the unknown priest start the ceremony. She resisted the urge to stand up and declare that it was she and the women in the gown who should be at Percy's side when the priest asked if anyone had any reason to object to the union of Percy and his bride.

She knew she'd forfeited that right. And that bride, who loves and respects Percy for who he was from the moment she had met him, had earned the right to be Mrs. Perseus Jackson, the name that she so desperately, though futilely, wished could be hers.

Annabeth felt Thalia pat her hand as the priest declared the wedded couple husband and wife. Then she forced herself to smile as the new husband and wife kissed and she clapped with the others as Percy and his wife made their way down the center aisle back out the sanctuary.

The guests began to file out and Annabeth got up and joined the crowd. She approached the newlyweds, ready to offer them her best wishes for a long and happy life together. A life she wished was hers. She'd had her chance. But she'd thrown it away.

She reached them. She congratulated the bride and kissed her on the cheek, knowing she thought Annabeth was the most stupid woman on the planet for the choice she had made; Annabeth had agreed with that thought for some time now.

Then she came to Percy. She smiled for him. She owed him this. To be happy for him on the biggest day of his life, for the one-time boyfriend she'd once hurt so much by breaking things off, for the man who had found it in his heart to forgive her and remain her friend.

Percy flashed her a goofy grin. "Thanks for coming, Wise Girl! I know you've been busy rebuilding and designing numerous building across the nation."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world, Seaweed Brain," she replied as she kissed him on the cheek, resisting forbidden temptation, wanting to move her lips to his, to feel his lips against hers once again. Even though they broke up, they never stopped using the beloved nicknames.

She turned and looked back at the newlyweds, imagining herself standing by his side, being his wife. It could have been her. She'd had her chance. Lost in her thoughts, she walked to her rental car to drive off to the Plaza for the wedding reception.

When she was sure she was away and no-one would see her, Annabeth Chase pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and began to cry over what might have been, over the life that could have been hers, over how she realized only too late that she was truly in love with Percy Jackson and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and only him.

**A/N: Okay, that was it. No next chapter, not continuation. I wanted to post a sad ending story and this was it. I was about to do it for **_**This Isn't the End, **_**but I didn't like the outcome. Please REVIEW! I want to know people's reaction, I hate writing bad endings, but I wanted to give it a shot.**

_**-azngirl123**_


End file.
